After feasting onto a decadent and moorish chocolate babka, which I baked last weekend, I needed something very light and quick to do recipe. To be honest, I was literally craving for a bowl of salad. But I didn’t want to spend a lot of time in kitchen on Sunday too, after I had spent my Saturday morning baking those elaborate lovely loaves. …

Summer arrives and the longing to escape to the mountains just doubles up. I love staying in mountains for a couple of days at least two three times a year. It’s always been a refreshing and rejuvenating experience and that is why I love being in their lap more than anywhere else. Walking on the trails, listening to the birds sweet chirping, soaking in all the serenity are few of the things I’d love to do always. …

Baklava spiced panna cotta with pomegranate jelly, is a big mouthful. I know, but there is something about the mouthful of recipe names, they sound like a lullaby to my ears. The long names always intrigue me a lot, as if they have a story to tell. Now that may sound a little eccentric to you. But that’s the way it is with me at least. Nonetheless the recipes themselves are as interesting their names may sound. And this one, panna cotta being my favorite Italian dessert, has become all the more exotic when I say it has got Baklava spice flavors.

The medley of flavors just doesn’t end up here, there is more to it. The pomegranate jelly made with fresh seasonal pomegranate juice takes this quintessential Italian dessert to another level. With festival season just round the corner, we tend to draw more towards the luxurious feasts and rich food. And it can’t get any richer than a slice of nutty, syrupy Baklava. I had this dessert first time, while I was in US. One of my Iranian colleague at work had brought boxes full of baklava of different shapes and sizes from his native place. It was the first bite, and I was in love with it. It had that feeling of festivities attached to it.

I have been hoping to make baklava from scratch at home from a very long time, but the fear of rolling those perfect phyllo sheets at home has been keeping me away. And you all know, how busy it gets during the festival season. But I am truly wishing that I get to tick this off soon from my list, at least I’ll give it a try this Diwali. But till then, just to keep myself happy, I made this baklava spiced panna cotta with pomegranate jelly. Just look at them, how pretty they look. They easily can become the showstopper at your dinner party this festival season. And they are extremely easy to make without any fuss at all. The sweetness is just perfect and the spiced flavors definitely work best for the season.